I Will Try For Your Love
by prouvaires
Summary: Happy birthday for yesterday to Claire, SearchingForMyLove. -what happened to Imprints fixing everything?- SethxOC


Try

_blow me away … i dare you_

**for SearchingForMyLove, happy birthday**

He doesn't really remember that night. There was a lot of shouting, he thinks. And he _knows _there was fighting. And there was a girl. (But there's always a girl, now.)

He runs a hand through his short black hair absently, checking his wrist for the watch he can't wear anymore. He remembers the no-watch-wearing thing, and cranes his head around to look for the clock on the wall in the kitchen. When he sees the hands he curses mentally. He's out of the door in seconds, shedding clothes as soon as he reaches the treeline, and then he explodes.

_Seth._

The voice in his head is calm. Acknowledging his presence, nothing more.

_Jake,_ he replies in an equally casual tone, the muscles in his chest and legs rippling under his sandy fur as he sprints towards the meeting place.

_You're late, _a cool female voice tells him, and he growls and adds an eye-roll for extra effect.

_No shit, Sherlock, _he replies, and he can almost _see _her anger in the snappy response she gives him.

_Grow up, Seth._

_Get off your high horse, Leah, _he shoots back, and he arrives in the small clearing at the same time as she does. He's more out of breath, and she gives him a smug, wolfy grin as she pads over to sit by Jacob.

_Cut it out, _their pack leader ordered. _Quil and Embry have tonight off, okay? So we'll all be patrolling north. The other pack is taking the south._

_We know, _Leah says, and Seth can hear the boredom in her tone. She hates hearing about anything to do with the other pack, because it reminds her of Sam. Seth creeps up to her and rubs his muzzle briefly against her shoulder.

_Chillax, sis. It'll all be fine._

She turns to glare at him, and there's more he wants to add, but he can't with the mind-link. He wants to tell her that he knows she's in love with Jake, that this knowledge kills him for her because he's aware nothing can be done. But Jacob can never know, so Seth always locks this information away in the most private part of his mind.

_Let's move, _Jake says, and the huge russet wolf disappears off into the trees without a backwards glance. Seth and Leah share a look, which Seth pours love and understanding into, and Leah just returns with irritation.

_Piss off, _she says, and leaps into a sprint in the opposite direction to Jake. Seth sighs. Sometimes it's tough being the nice one, the one everyone trusts. With this in mind, he stretches hugely before setting off at a lope towards the Cullen's house. He knows the werewolves aren't technically allowed across the treaty line, but he's Seth, so it'll be fine. Besides, he's just about dying for want of some of Edward's cinnamon rolls.

He screeches to a halt in front of the house, trying to hurriedly cover up the gouge marks he makes in the grass, when a flash of movement catches his eye at an upstairs window, and he sees Carlisle standing there. The blonde vampire disappears, and then reappears in a flash beside Seth.

"Seth," he says, and Seth nods, still in his wolf-form.

"Listen, it's not great for you to be here."

Seth tilts his head to the side, the signal for "why?" that he knows Carlisle will understand.

"We've got … company. Alice managed to track down her sister's granddaughter, and for some unknown reason she brought her back here. She's told her she's her cousin."

Seth can feel a grin forming on his lips. He had always liked Alice. She had this way of doing something totally unexpected and then managing to fix it all right before it turned into a disaster.

He turns away and pads towards the trees. Once hidden from Carlisle's sight, he transforms back and pulls on the pair of trousers he keeps wrapped around his hind leg.

"Seriously, Seth," Carlisle begins as he moves towards him. "It's really not – "

"Seth's here?" a high, delighted voice called from the porch, and then Nessie bounced down the steps towards him. Frozen at sixteen, her loveliness always made Seth stop and catch his breath, despite the fact she was more his little sister than anything else.

"I missed you," she tells him as he swings her up into a hug.

"Me too. But my mom really wanted that holiday," he replies, and she giggles.

"Is Jake coming too?" her face is hopeful as she stares up at him, but it's Carlisle who answers.

"Ness, honey, you know it's best if none of the pack are here while Bonnie is."

"Don't be silly, Granddad," she tells him, and takes Seth by the hand, pulling him towards the house.

"Bonnie will like you," she whispers, as they round the corner into the sitting room. Alice is sitting in an armchair, with Jasper right next to her. Bella and Edward are standing to one side, and they all look up as Nessie enters the room, dragging Seth. Esme hurries towards them, but Seth doesn't even see.

He doesn't see anything.

All he sees is the girl in front of him.

She's the most perfect thing he's ever seen. Large brown eyes, a slightly weak chin, cupid's bow lips, long blonde hair falling down her back in curly waves. Her lips tremble as she takes in the intensity of his stare, and then the silence is broken as Esme sighs.

"Oh, _Seth,_" she says, and Seth barely hears her. He moves towards the girl, hand already outstretched.

"Hi," he says, his throat dry as he approaches her. "I'm Seth."

"Bonnie," she replies, shaking his hand. He's impressed that she doesn't react too badly to the temperature of his skin. Close up she's even better, and he can feel himself drawn towards her like a moth to a flame. Her skin is much, much paler than his – almost as pale as the Cullens'. And he just _knows _that she's the most important thing that's happened to him, ever.

"Seth, a word, please," someone says behind him, and then he's being dragged backwards, away from her. He doesn't struggle – he knows how strong the hands clutching him are. He's thrust into the kitchen, and the door is slammed behind them.

"You _idiot_," Edward says, starting to pace. Carlisle, leaning against the counter, nods in agreement. Only Esme protests.

"You know he can't help it, dear," she argues, and moves towards Seth, her sweet smell burning in his nostrils as she smiles at him and pats him on the arm.

"I'm happy you finally found someone," she murmurs, and he tries to smile at her, but he's just too dazed.

"I can't believe you _imprinted _on Alice's great-niece!" Edward exclaims, and this isn't right, so Seth frowns.

"I can imprint on whoever I like, Edward," he protests, feeling anger rising. Carlisle must see the trembling in his arms, because he forces his way between the two.

"Leave him alone," he orders Edward in an aside, and then turns to Seth. "It's best if you just go now," he says sadly but firmly.

"No," Seth says, and Esme puts her hand on his arm again.

"Please, Seth. Make this easier for us all."

"I _can't _forget her, Esme, you know I can't. I just need to see her one more time. Please?"

"I'm sorry," Carlisle says, and takes Seth by the arm, guiding him out of the room and then out of the house. As Seth is forced past the living room, he catches a flash of those beautiful brown eyes, and they're staring at him with confusion and … what looks like a glimmer of hope.

Seth leaves quietly. He transforms just inside the woods, and then takes off as fast as he can.

_Seth?! _Leah's voice in his head is alarmed and irritated.

_What happened, Seth? _Jake's voice is calmer and holds more authority. Seth doesn't reply, just lets Bonnie's face fill his mind and his heart.

_Oh, shit, _Leah curses. _You Imprinted on the niece of a leech?_

Seth sighs. This is hard. Everyone else appeared to have gotten lucky with their Imprintees. Jake had fixed everything that was wrong with his Imprint, and everyone else had just found their soul-mate within the reservation. Why did it have to be him?

But what he wasn't going to tell anyone, what he wasn't even going to think about, was how he was going to see her again.

He left it late. Much later, so that Edward would be gone hunting, and Jake and Leah would be asleep while Sam's pack did the patrols.

He sneaks back to the big house in the middle of the woods, and pads on silent feet around until he finds the room they'd put her in to sleep. It's easy to detect – the only room that smells like heaven rather than bleach.

He transforms back, pulls his trousers on, and thanks all the wolf-genes he has that he's able to get through the window silently, without alerting the vampires. She's sitting up, reading, and she gasps when he jumps through the window. He presses a finger to his lips when she looks about to shout, and points downstairs.

She nods.

He knows she's intrigued by him, and he loves her so much it feels like he can't breathe. Nothing but her matters anymore.

"What do you want?" she whispers when he's finally kneeling on the floor right next to the bed. He can hear the TV on downstairs, so he knows it's okay to make a slight noise.

"I had to see you again," he murmurs, and she blushes, looking flattered. "I wanted to tell you that you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

She blushes even more. "Thank you," she replies. "No-one's ever said that to me before."

"It's true," he says, and dares to reach out and brush a strand of hair from her cheek. He can feel the burn of her skin against his, despite how hot his body temperature is.

"Here," she whispers, holding her cellphone out to him. "Put your number in. I'm guessing the family don't want you seeing me."

He chuckles as he taps the keys quickly. "You could say that. Our families have got this … uh, weird rivalry thing. They don't want me to see you. But I just had to. I'm sorry about the whole sneaking-through-the-window thing."

She giggles. "That's okay. You can sneak through my window any time."

He hears footsteps on the stairs, and he knows she does too. He presses a kiss to her cheek, and she smiles and blushes again. Then he's out of the window and across the lawn before whichever family member it is has got the door open.

He knows he's courting disaster doing this. He doesn't know where she lives, what her family's like, what she thinks of him. But she means more to him than anything, so he doesn't care.

When he eventually tumbles into bed all he thinks of is her and her eyes and her hair and her skin and her scent.

And he's so far gone he'd die for her without a second of hesitation.

---

**Happy birthday, Claire! I hope you liked it, and didn't hate the pairings … I've been wanting to do a SethOC for a while, and this just flowed onto the screen.**

**If you liked the story leave a review telling Claire happy birthday, people!**


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